Purpose: Extracorporeal circulation circuits used in cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries are increasingly being coated with polymer materials to reduce the thrombogenicity of extracorporeal devices. However, a haemoconcentrator, which corrects haematocrit and electrolyte imbalances, is not coated with polymers. In this study, we sought to assess the filtration performance of polymer-coated haemoconcentrators in order to obtain insight into their prospects for use in clinical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study tested to see if trehalose, a cytoprotective disaccharide, protects against spinal cord ischemia in a rabbit model.
Methods: The infrarenal aorta was mobilized in four groups of 10 rabbits. In groups I, II, and III, it was clamped proximally and distally for 20 minutes.
A 68-year-old woman exhibited an increasingly protruding mass on the left heart border on chest X-ray. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed an echo-free mass in the anterior pericardial space. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed blood flow from the proximal left anterior descending coronary into a large coronary artery aneurysm measuring 61 mm × 51 mm in diameter and a quadricuspid aortic valve with a small cusp between the left and right coronary cusps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
December 2012
Objective: We previously reported the noninferiority of paravertebral block (PVB) to epidural block. In this study, we assessed whether PVB via an intrathoracic approach was also safe for the patients ineligible for epidural block because of, for example, anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy.
Methods: Patients admitted to our hospital for pulmonary resection between April 2010 and March 2012, and who were ineligible for epidural block for various reasons, were enrolled in this study.
Objective: Delayed paraplegia after operation on the thoracoabdominal aorta is considered to be related to vulnerability of motor neurons to ischemia. Previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between neuronal vulnerability and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress after transient ischemia in the spinal cord. The aim of this study was to investigate whether sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (PBA), a chemical chaperone that reduces the load of mutant or unfolded proteins retained in the ER during cellular stress, can protect against ischemic spinal cord damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies have indicated that high-dose intravenous edaravone (3-10mg/kg) protects against ischemic spinal cord injury. This study examined whether direct injection of low-dose edaravone into the clamped segment of the aorta prevents ischemic spinal cord injury. Spinal cord ischemia was induced in rabbits by aortic clamping below the renal artery and above the aortic bifurcation for 15min at normothermia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In order to determine whether critical intercostal artery is present in the aneurysm during descending thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic surgery, changes of transcranial motor-evoked potentials (Tc-MEPs) were monitored following infusion of cold blood into the aorta as an adjunct 'on-site assessment'. Accuracy of this method was evaluated.
Methods: Fourteen patients were examined for Tc-MEPs changes following infusion of cold blood (4 degrees C, 300-450 ml) into the aneurysm.
To investigate the feasibility of a novel recording method for trans-intercostal evoked spinal cord potentials (Tic-ESCPs) and the properties of the waveforms, the potentials were recorded and analyzed in an animal model. In two beagle dogs, Tic-ESCPs were recorded at the left twelfth intercostal to fourth lumbar nerves following stimulation at the left eleventh intercostal nerve, either with or without the use of a muscle relaxant. The amplitude and latency of the Tic-ESCP waves were then measured and compared with those of conventional transcranial spinal motor evoked potentials (MEPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to anatomically verify echo-guided identification of key lumbar arteries supplying blood to the spinal cord and to examine whether changes in nerve root motion could be used for detecting malperfusion following aortic cross-clamping. In two beagle dogs, nerve root motion was monitored through the intervertebral disc using transesophageal echocardiography. Communications between each lumbar artery and the spinal vasculature were assessed by echogenic signals in the spinal cord following saline injection into each lumbar artery.
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